


Porcelain Wolves

by Head_Full_Of_Things__Shir



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game), Life Is Strange 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Road Trips, Self-Harm, They deal with episode 3, They deal with episode 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:48:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21608578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Head_Full_Of_Things__Shir/pseuds/Head_Full_Of_Things__Shir
Summary: During the car ride from Nevada to Arizona, Daniel shares with Sean more about what happened to him at the Haven Point cult, which disturbs and shakes Sean. He must now face the fact that the damage that’s been caused to Daniel there wouldn’t be so easy to shake off.Lost on how to help him, he goes to Karen, who helps him by giving him advice from her own past, but she has a hard truth to face as well.~~~~~~~~Aka the one where everyone deals with what happened in episodes 3 and 4 and maybe even start to heal.Bonus: The Daniel apology that everybody waited for.
Relationships: Daniel Diaz & Sean Diaz, Sean Diaz & Karen Reynolds, family!! - Relationship
Comments: 9
Kudos: 57





	Porcelain Wolves

Sean first noticed it a day ago, when they were just in the beginning of their ride from Nevada to Arizona and Karen’s community. Karen was driving and Daniel was telling her about the Playbox game that he liked back before everything happened. “Then I won, obviously. And Noah is a sore loser so he said.. Umm... _A bad word..._. And I said...”  
  
This caught Sean’s attention. Five months ago he made the mistake of telling Daniel he can curse from time to time when they’re alone, and ever since then the kid developed some nasty mouth, so this was very unlike him. But Sean excused it in the fact that Daniel was talking to his mother who he only just met and maybe he was… Just... Embarrassed to curse in front of her.  
  
But when it happened again today, he knew something was up. They went out of the gas station toilet (which luckily was empty so no one could recognise them) and headed to the car, when Daniel didn’t pay attention and went straight into a wall, bumping his head on it, which would cause Sean to laugh if he wasn’t distracted by what Daniel said. “Fuc… I mean Ouch! That was unpleasant.”  
  
_Unpleasant?_ He never heard him say that word before. “Alright what’s up?” he asked.  
  
“What?”  
  
“What ‘what’? What happened to my cursing brother?”  
  
“I… Just… Don’t say bad words anymore.”  
  
“What? Wait because of Lisbeth?” He recalled in his head the events of yesterday evening. “Daniel you saw yourself that she wasn’t right about anything, she was just a conn-woman.”  
  
He looked to his feet. “I know but I’m just more used to it that way now.”  
  
He couldn’t believe it. Until now he was sure that yeah, Daniel bought into Lisbeth’s big lie about god and higher plan bullshit, but he surely didn’t transform into a church boy. He just followed along with his behavior and that hideous haircut to fit in with the community, but once he got out of there these things would… Fall off from him, right?  
  
The haircut was already gone, Sean offered Daniel to get rid of it when they stopped at Karen’s motel room before they left for Arizona. Daniel wanted to have his head shaved, just like Sean. Hearing it caused him to tear up a little, not gonna lie. Karen bought the electric razor which Sean was grateful about, but on hindsight it might not have been the best idea because she’s wanted by the police now too. In any case, ten minutes later and after a clothing change any reminder of that terrible cult was gone. And in a way, something inside Sean expected that now things would be just like they were before, as if this whole thing never happened. But it was naive to think so. Or perhaps selfish. He should’ve known that there are some things that are harder to peel off than clothes and a haircut.  
  
When he didn’t answer, Daniel huffed. “Isn’t this better for you? You always gave me a look when I cursed.”  
  
“Yeah because it’s rude and you shouldn’t do it in front of people like... Claire and Stephen, or Merrill... But it’s not... the worst thing in the world, what really matters is being a good person.”  
  
This didn’t seem to convince him. “Whatever. Look can you just let it go?”  
  
“Alright fine, but I just mean the world isn’t going to explode because you said the world ‘fuck’.. Are you ok?”  
  
When he said the word Daniel grimaced as if it affected him physically. With one hand he held the wrist of his other hand.  
  
“What happened _enano_?”  
  
“I told you I just... Don’t like cursing anymore.”  
  
He sighed. “You’re right I’m sorry, I’d never want to do anything to make you feel uncomfortable. I’ll keep it PG for now,” he said and smiled.  
  
Daniel nodded and looked a bit encouraged. Yet he was still holding onto his other hand as if he didn’t seem to notice. With his thumb he went over a red mark on the back of the wrist.  
  
Sean remembered there was another red mark on his other hand. He saw these marks before, when Daniel first changed from the long-sleeved buttoned shirt he wore at the cult. He thought it was from Lisbeth holding Daniel so hard, but now, a sneaking suspicion grew inside him that it wasn’t the case. Could it be…? **Shit..** “ _Enano_ ,” he said, “Can I look at your wrists?”  
  
Daniel’s face lost color, but he nodded and slowly lifted his arms for him to see. Yep, two red marks. They were too symmetrical to be by accident.  
  
He wanted to throw up. “What did you get these from Daniel?”  
  
His eyes looked down to the floor. “When I... Acted rude, or said sinful words, she would sometimes take a ruler from our classroom-“  
  
**No.** Sean closed his eyes.  
  
“- and hold my hand and give me a punishment.”  
  
“No...” this time it was out-loud. “Daniel I’m... I’m _so_ sorry.”  
  
Danie looked up at him.  
  
“This never should’ve happened to you. We should’ve never been separated like this. I’m... Come here.” He took him into a big tight hug. He wished he could hold him like this forever so that nothing bad would ever happen to him again. “You know I would never do this to you right? I’ll never hurt you”..  
  
He felt Daniel’s head nodding from inside the hug.  
  
How did this happen? Daniel has literal superpowers. He can throw into the air anyone that even dares to lay a finger on him. Sean knew this well because he was the victim of it a couple of times. So if that woman hit him, that means she made him think he _deserves_ it. This thought made Sean sick to the stomach even more than the beating part.  
  
After a few seconds they parted from the hug. “It’s alright though,’’ Daniel said. “I actually liked it better than if she had stayed mad at me. Each time it happened she gave me the punishment, but then... That was it. She said the punishment makes the sin forgiven. And after that she was happy again and gave me a piece of pie.” He smiled. He probably said it to make Sean feel better, but it just made it so much worse.  
  
“Daniel… You know that when I’m mad at you when you do something bad it’s not to punish you, right? It’s to make sure you understand not to do it again. You don’t really need the punishment you just need to do better next time, that’s all.”  
  
Sean waited for him to answer but he didn’t.  
  
“You hear me Daniel?”  
  
“I’m... Yeah.” He shut his eyes. Tears fell on his face.  
  
“Come here” Sean said and took him into a second hug. It was even longer than the first one, none of them wanting to let go.  
  
Eventually they had to though. Daniel got out of the grip.  
  
“You ok?” Sean asked.  
  
Daniel nodded. “Yeah, let’s go back before mom wonders what’s taking us so long.”  
  
Sean gave him a smile and they hit the road back.

* * *

Sean didn’t have the time to process what happened for the rest of that day. It was only in the nighttime, when Daniel fell asleep in the car, that he was able to talk with Karen alone. He thought about it during the day and decided he wanted to tell her this. She’s Daniel’s mother and she deserves to know. And also, honestly, he had no fucking idea what to do. It was funny, in a way, only a week ago he wanted nothing to do with her and now he trusts her to give him advice.  
  
She was leaning in front of the truck with a cigarette and looking at the starry desert sky. When he sat next to her she said nothing and offered him another cigarette. He eagerly took it. “Can I talk to you about something?” he asked.  
  
“Sure, what is it?”  
  
He took a long drag on the cigarette and then spoke. Even getting the words out of his mouth was difficult. “She hit him Karen. With a ruler.”  
  
She looked at him. “Wow. I knew she was a manipulative bitch but I didn’t think she would get to that level. But it does make sense, I bet he wasn’t the only kid getting this kind of punishment in that hellhole.”  
  
“It doesn’t make it better.”  
  
“You’re right.” She turned to him. “I’m so sorry Sean. Daniel doesn’t deserve this.”  
  
He nodded.  
  
Hand holding?  
  
None of them sure what to say.  
  
“The thing is... You didn’t know Daniel before this. He was... A little brat. Always bugging me when we were back in Seattle. And when we were on the run… He literally couldn’t stay out of trouble for five minutes. And it’s funny, when we were staying at Claire and Stephen’s we met the neighbor kid Chris.”  
  
“I don’t remember him.” Karen said.  
  
“Charles’ kid.”  
  
“Oh”. Was all she said. Her face was hard to decipher.  
  
“He’s such a good kid, polite and helping with chores and quietly playing pretend with his toys. And sometimes whenever Daniel gets into his latest trouble I used to think to myself... Why can’t Daniel be more like him? And then I remembered, that the day I went to pick him up from Chris’s house the kid opened up to me and told me the truth. That sometimes when his dad drinks too much he... beats him up. And I felt terrible for thinking this. But the thought never truly went away. And now... Now I guess I got what I wanted didn’t I?” he chuckled bitterly. “Got this obedient kid, but it’s only because of what that woman did to him. I’m just so sick on the inside Karen, I don’t know what to do, how to handle this, I’m...” He felt tears clogging his eyes.  
  
Karen nodded. She looked at him with a serious look for a second, then spoke slowly: “Let me tell you a story.”  
  
He nodded for her to continue.  
  
“When you were about... Seven years old, I think? And I was pregnant with Daniel, you had a fight with a kid in school. He called you ‘dirty’ and you were hurt so you ran away from school. How they left the gate open that day I would never understand.  
  
“I got a call from the principal and my heart, it just dropped to the ground. It was the most frightening time of my entire life. Esteban left the garage to look too, there were search parties, the whole thing. Two hours later I found you on the stairs next to Lyla’s house. You weren’t there when I searched there at first, but you must have come there at some point in between. No one was home, so you just sat there. When I saw you I was furious, but mostly I just felt relief.  
  
“Then things calmed down. I called Esteban, he came back home, and we ate lunch together. He then had to leave because he had a very busy day at the garage. You didn’t go back to school of course so we spent the rest of the day playing together.  
  
“At the end of that incredibly long and stressful day, your father got back home and put you to sleep with a story. He came to the living room and we finally had a chance for a proper talk. He said _’He’s so cute when he sleeps, he looks like a little angel.’_  
  
“And I got so upset I just chuckled and said _’if only he was as calm and quiet when he was awake today’._  
  
“That’s when he looked me straight in the eyes and said something I never forgot. He said: _’Mi amor, if you wanted… Porcelain figurines then you came to the wrong place. Children are living beings! They can be cute and charming and loving, but they can also make mistakes and cause problems. And when they do that we have to be firm with them, we might even tell them no computer for a week,’_ that’s when he smiled and I laughed. _’But we also encourage them. We tell them that we’ll always love them no matter what they do, and that we’ll always be there for them…”_ She said that part almost in a whisper, and when Sean glanced at her he saw she was looking at her feet. _“And… And then we just hope that they’ll grow up into decent human beings.’_ he said that and laughed. _'Plus, this is our son we’re talking about, he’s the shared product of our gene pool, what did you expect?’_  
  
“I laughed too when he said that.  
  
“And he continued: _’Did I ever tell you the story that my father used to tell me? That we…’_  
  
I cut him off. _’Your family came from wolves I know, you only told me that five thousand times.’_ I rolled my eyes but I still smiled.  
  
“ _’Here’s that smile!’_ he said and I laughed. And he smiled too.” Karen took a breath, leaning with her hands on the hood, loosely holding the cigarette so that it almost touched the metal but not quite. Sean noticed she smiled even as she told this. “Esteban’s smile is the kind that can light up worlds, so of course it caused me to smile brighter too. And I told him _’You’re right. And his little brother has this too, I can already feel him kick inside like a wild wolf.’_  
  
Sean smiled as he pictured that in his mind.  
  
“And then… He said he should tell you that story sometime. About the wolves.”  
  
“He did,” Sean said. It brought him memories of nights in his bedroom, Dad and Mom sitting on the edge of the bed telling him tales. He didn’t remember the details, just that it was about wolves and their family. Then it was just Dad telling him and Daniel stories of their little wolf family, Papa wolf and his two pups who he loved more than anything in the world. Tears started to form in his eyes as he thought about that. “I miss him so much.”  
  
“I miss him too.” Karen said softly. And looked at him. “Look, what I was trying to say in all of this is… Daniel’s been through some shit that shouldn’t have happened to anyone. That cult leader bitch tried to break him and she did make progress I won’t lie, but then you got him out of there, and now he can start healing. She wanted to make him into her perfect little porcelain figure, but jokes on her because he isn’t one. That’s the point, no one is. We’re living beings, and stuff like what she pulled off can only maybe put us to sleep for some time, but never truly shun the life out of us. Especially with this family, we’ve got wolves inside you know,” she said and smiled.  
  
Sean found himself smiling too.  
  
“That wolf inside of Daniel tried to fight her but couldn’t, because it was alone and afraid. But now—now he’s got you, Sean. He’s got _us_. And with our help he’s going to beat this, I promise you.” She took another drag on the cigarette. “Now don’t get me wrong, he’ll never be exactly the same as before. And you have to be ready that it’ll take a long time, there are no miracles in this world. You need to be patient with him. Just be there and support him, and eventually he will start making troubles again, and making you mad every time!” she said with laughter. After a second she added: “You know, he’s very lucky he’s got you as a brother.  
  
Sean nodded.  
  
“You know, the Daniel you talk about, the troublemaker, I can’t wait to meet him.”  
  
Sean laughed. “You’ll regret saying this.”  
  
She laughed too.  
  
He took another drag on the cigarette and allowed himself to fully appreciate the night sky. He felt like a weight has been lifted from his chest. “So, what happened next?” he asked.  
  
“What?”  
  
“With you and Dad.”  
  
“Oh,” she took a second to think. “Well you were not allowed to use the computer for a week. But you did learn to never do that again.”  
  
“I actually think I remember that. I couldn’t play games with Lyla I was devastated!”  
  
“Oh, so you remember not having computer time for a week but you don’t remember the part when you ran off and caused us a heart attack???”  
  
Sean laughed. “What can I say, not having computer time was the worst thing that had happened yet in my short life”  
  
_Let’s just say he had some moments to compete with that by now._ “Thank you Karen, truly.”  
  
“Of course. I just… Want you two safe and happy,” she said and smiled.  
  
They continued smoking for a while, and as they did Sean let his mind wander. Were they going to be all lovey-dovey from now on? He doubted it. But after all this time just him and Daniel, it was good to get advice from someone. To _have_ someone by his side. He shouldn’t get too used to this. But… for the time being it was nice. And he realized that he hardly heard stories from Esteban about that time before Karen left. He could ask her for more stories, when they’ll have the time.  
  
Eventually he crushed the cig. “Alright I think I’ll head to sleep now.”  
  
Karen nodded. “Goodnight,” she said, “Sleep well.”  
  
Sean found himself smiling. “You too.”

* * *

As Sean got into the car, Karen turned back to looking at the sky and inhaled the smoke. Truth was, when she told Sean what happened that day she omitted some things that he didn’t need to know. Like how after that conversation with Esteban she kept laying on the sofa for almost an hour, head safe on his torso. And talked to him. “Honey?”  
  
“Hhmm..”  
  
“What about me? Am I not a wolf?”  
  
He smiled. “You’re the wildest wolf I know.”  
  
She felt safe enough that she admitted something she shouldn’t have. “Then why don’t I feel like that?”  
  
He looked at her, furrowing his brows.  
  
“I feel more like a porcelain figurine. I’m doing what a mother does, keeping a happy face for the kid but inside… I’m like a wolf in a cage Esteban.” Tears strangled her voice. “A porcelain cage and I can’t get out.” There were tears in her eyes as well.  
  
“ _Mi amor_ Everybody feels that way sometimes. You’re just tired and stressed from this terrible day, but tomorrow things will look brighter. You just need some sleep.”  
  
She looked at him. How didn’t he understand? She didn’t get how her husband could be so insightful sometimes and completely miss the mark on others.  
  
He didn’t seem to even notice her tears, or if he did he just didn’t take them seriously. She didn’t know which she preferred.  
  
She wanted to press it, to tell him that it’s not a passing thing. That in fact she’s been feeling this way for a while now and she didn’t know what to do. But… She didn’t. She just smiled and said “You’re right I must be just tired. Goodnight my love.”  
  
He kissed her and gave a warm smile.  
  
She got up from the couch and went to bed, but on her way she stopped to look at little Sean asleep in his room. Esteban was right, he really did look like an angel.  
  
Something bitter inside her reminded her that when she was called by the school earlier that day to tell her he’s been missing, she was in the middle of a meeting, talking to a publishing agent about getting out a book of her poems. After they were safely home she did call her again, but the agent told her that she already met with another brilliant poet and closed a deal with him. And unfortunately, publishing agencies don’t have many spots for poetry in their yearly lineup. _Is this how it’s done? Did she have to be porcelain so that her kid could be free?_ She loves Sean more than anything, but the same terrible thing inside her wished he would stay sleeping for a while, at least a year or two. Stashed away until she reaches her dream with her songwriting, or sees the world like she wanted all her life. Why did she have to have a kid at such a young age? At the time it seemed perfect, her parents were happy and Esteban was thrilled, but what did she feel about it? She truly didn’t know. Well, what-ifs and wishes don’t matter now, you can’t turn the clock back. Right? She calmed herself and went to the bedroom, but even as she fell asleep this thought didn’t leave her head.  
  
With a sigh, Karen brought her attention back to the present to the Nevada desert, and turned to look at both her sons who were asleep in the truck. Daniel moved a little so that Sean could lie behind him and he had his head on his legs. Sean fell asleep so quickly after their conversation. _She didn’t want them to stay asleep forever now,_ she realized. Actually, she couldn’t wait for them to wake up and tell her more about themselves. About their adventures on the roads and their lives before this terrible thing that happened. One of her sons has magic! How did this happen? And she wanted to get to know the person Sean grew up to be, and to see Daniel’s face light up again, like two days ago when she brought them Choco-Crisps (per Sean’s advice of course). Daniel’s smile was bright and contagious, so much like Esteban’s. And yet, she had to think, and the closer they got to Arizona the more she thought about it. What would happen when this ride ends and they get there? Sean and Daniel can stay with her community for some time, but the truth is they are not safe as long as they’re on US land. Would they expect her to cross the border with them and start a new life in Mexico? It took her all these years, but somehow for the first time in her life she found a place where she wanted to stay. She’s with her people. And going with Sean and Daniel means giving up her life in order to be a mother, just like eight years ago in that stifling house, playing a role. She can’t go back to the life that killed her. But dammit she can’t just send them to a new country alone either can’t she?  
  
Solution hasn’t seemed to come to her mind yet. She turned off the cigarette on the hood of the car and headed to sleep herself.

* * *

The next morning, Sean found himself waking up before the rest. He went over Daniel’s sleeping body as careful as he could to not wake him up and got out of the car. The sun was up but the air was still chilly, which he treasured because he expected the already familiar Nevada heat would soon return.  
  
They’ll get to Karen’s community by the end of the day, so that was their last day on the road. While he longed for staying in one place at least a few days, he had to admit the car trip is kind of fun. It was nice to hear about Karen’s life, even if the wound of her leaving them won’t get healed anytime soon. And god did he miss Daniel.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard steps in the dry grass behind him. Well, looks like trying to not wake Daniel up didn’t work as well as he thought. “How did you sleep little wolf?”.  
  
Daniel nodded. “Umm… Sean?”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“There’s something I wanted to tell you”  
  
He focused his hazy morning attention to Daniel. “Sure what is it?”  
  
“I’m… Sorry about what happened at the farm. I didn’t mean to.”  
  
_Well shit it’s that conversation._ When they were at the camp and he discovered that Daniel ran off with Finn, there was nothing he wanted more than to hear him say those words. Then they haunted his dreams for two months while he was in a coma. And now? He didn’t even know what he felt about it. All he knew was that they had to have this conversation eventually, and looks like that time came. “I know you are,” he said.  
  
“I tried to control it, but I just couldn’t, my shoulder hurt so bad and I was afraid and I just... couldn’t concentrate...”  
  
“Whoa hold on.”  
  
Daniel turned to look at him, slightly surprised that he stopped him.  
  
“You want to tell me you’re sorry about _that_?? Not about the fact that you ran off behind my back and got us into this dangerous situation?” He didn’t know if it was time to bring this up, because the last thing Daniel needed after his time with Lisbeth was more scolding, but hey he came to him to apologize so it was probably the time to set this right.  
  
Daniel got more confused, “But... You lost your eye! And everyone were hurt bad!”  
  
“You were wounded and your power burst out, it’s not your fault.”  
  
Daniel let out a breath..  
  
“ _However_ you running off with Finn like that? That’s what put us in that situation in the first place. You went behind my back, you lied to me and you put yourself in danger. What were you thinking??”  
  
And his breath stopped again… Daniel thought about it for a second, then talked. “I’m sorry. I am. I was just so tired of our situation Sean, of being angry and afraid all the time. I thought... If we could get that money we wouldn’t have to keep running anymore. We’ll have a home! And Finn said nothing bad could happen!”  
  
“Well yeah because Finn is... Reckless. He never wanted this to happen I know, but... No one does until it’s too late.” The words that Agent Florence told him in the hospital rang in his ears. “He’s my friend too you know.” He remembered the last time he saw him, that day at the hospital when Finn apologized to him. He thought he would feel nothing but fury towards him, but to his surprise there wasn’t. Truth was there’s no turning back from what happened anyway, and Finn got his punishment too.  
  
Daniel nodded. “I really miss him Sean,” he said, “I hate that he’s in the hospital because of me.”  
  
“Daniel… He brought this on himself too. Listen, it’s just that... When you have a little more experience in life, you’ll be able to see the danger in doing those kind of things yourself and you won’t need me to tell you. But until then, when I tell you that something is dangerous, you should listen to me.”  
  
Daniel sighed. “You’re right. I should’ve trusted you from the beginning I know.”  
  
Sean smiled softly. But when he saw Daniel’s face he knew he had to add another part to it. “Daniel, I also want you to know that I heard what you said when we were in Merrill’s house, about how you want to get to choose for yourself. And I’m happy that you do. But just… Don’t start from the biggest life or death choices. On these you still need to talk to me ok? Let’s start with smaller ones.”  
  
Daniel was silent for a moment. “I’m not sure I still want to make my own choices anymore. I mean I tried to and look what happened.”  
  
“ **Hell No**.” Sean held Daniel’s shoulders. “Just because that woman told you she should be the one to decide for you doesn’t mean she was right. You have something she will never have.”  
  
“Superpowers?”  
  
“No you idiot, a big heart. Sometimes you feel too much anger and you don’t know what to do, but you also care so much. You’ve grown up a lot since a few months ago and I’m _so_ proud of you. You still have some growing up to do, but it means choosing for yourself, even if you make mistakes. If you struggle I promise I will always be there to help.”  
  
Daniel smiled.  
  
“Again **not** in getting yourself to dangerous situations. More like deciding your own bedtime or something.”  
  
“Deal.” Daniel smiled. “Thanks Sean. I love you.” He rested his head on Sean’s shoulder. “And I’m sorry, I really am.”  
  
“I forgive you _enano_ ”  
  
“Really?”  
  
“Fully. You’re my little wolf I could never stay mad at you for long.”  
  
Daniel turned to him with a bright face and leaped on him into a tight hug. Sean closed his eyes. He missed this so much in the time without Daniel, that he was pretty sure he’ll never be tired of hugging him now.  
  
They stayed like this for a minute until something clicked inside of Sean. He frowned. “Wait is this... Why you liked what Lisbeth said? That punishment can erase the sin? _Shit_ of course you did. You had _this huge thing_ sitting on your chest and you couldn’t erase it.”  
  
Daniel let go of the hug and nodded sheepishly.  
  
“But Daniel letting her hit you is not the answer.”  
  
“I know. Sean you said I should do better next time, but... What if I don’t? What if I lose control of my powers again? I don’t want anything else bad to happen to you, or to other people.”  
  
Sean nodded.  
  
Daniel continued. “Mother Revere... I mean.. Lisbeth, she told me that as long as I’m with her, my powers won’t act up because they’re finally used for their right purpose”.  
  
He once again mentally cursed this terrible woman who used a little kid’s fear to control him. He tried to work his brain on how to help Daniel with this. “Alright, then we need to do what we can to make sure it won’t happen again. If you want we can... Do more power training, but this time of the control of your power. Try to make it more precise. What do you say?” He didn’t know if it would be enough to stop something that was basically the natural reaction of Daniel’s body next time they’re in such an extreme situation, but it’s the only thing they could try. And it would calm Daniel’s frightened mind at least.  
  
“I like it,” Daniel said, but he still didn’t look entirely convinced.  
  
“Then how about... We can also put some rules about your powers...”  
  
“Like we did when we were in the cabin! I’d love that” it surely was a weird turn of events, that last time he hated those rules and seemed to be out of his way to break them, but now he was so eager to take them.  
  
“Except this time, _you_ decide on what the rules are, and I’ll help you keep them however I can.”  
  
“Sure I can do that.” He had a serious face.  
  
“Got any good ideas?”  
  
Daniel thought about it for a second. “How about... From now on I will only use my powers for good. To protect us, like in the church, or to help others. No more using it to get out of chores I don’t like to do. Or when I’m angry.”  
  
Sean smiled. “That’s incredible _enano_. First rule down. What else?”  
  
“I... Don’t have anything else.”  
  
“Alright so what do you think of this—whenever you feel angry, or scared, just... Count to ten in your head and take deep breaths. After ten seconds you can decide what to do next.”  
  
He nodded. “I can do that.”  
  
“And what about the third rule? Do you need my help with this one?”  
  
“No. Actually, I think I got it. Whenever I’m in a situation I don’t know what to do, I will always ask you first. I trust you to know what to do.”  
  
“Oh.” The warmth that filled his heart was incomparable to anything he felt before. Is this what it feels like, being a parent? Is this what his dad talked about? He also felt the full weight of the responsibility from Daniel trusting him, but that was nothing new these past few months. “Then we got our three rules! And we can start with the new power training whenever you like.”  
  
“Can we do it when Mom’s awake? I really want to show her what I can do.”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
“Thanks Sean! Hey, do we have anything to eat? I’m _starving_.”  
  
And just like that, the day began. He took a few more seconds to look at their surroundings. The sun was fully up at that point. Looks like their journey will soon continue. “Yeah sure, let’s check the trunk”.

* * *

One hour from Karen’s community. The sun was in the middle of the clear blue sky, heat coming from the window on Sean’s head as he leaned on the window, and it was battling the cold wind from the air conditioning. They already passed a town or two, but for now it would still be wild desert surrounding them until they reach their destination. He was only partly paying attention to the conversation that was going on in the car.  
  
“Can I have the bed in front of the TV?” Daniel asked. The thoughts and discussion in the truck started flowing to the direction of where they’ll soon be.  
  
Karen laughed. “Well… I don’t really have a TV in the house.”  
  
“Oh man....”  
  
“Well, I choose not to waste my time on consumerist culture and instead enjoy what life has to offer! I talk to friends, write poetry, spend some time with my own thoughts—people don’t do that enough anymore...”  
  
Daniel rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. A few seconds later Sean heard him say with a voice so quiet he almost didn’t hear it “Well this fucking sucks.”  
  
He jolted up. Wait, did he heard it correctly? He looked at Daniel, who was waiting silently as if he expected lightning to strike him, and when nothing happened he smiled. _Karen was right._ It won’t happen immediately, but eventually he’ll be alright.  
  
Karen must’ve heard it too, because she shared a smile with Sean through the front mirror. She looked at Daniel and said “You know what? I guess David wouldn’t care if we keep the tablet a little longer.”  
  
Daniel’s entire face lit in pure joy. “Sweet! Thank you!”  
  
Karen laughed and smiled.  
  
“I’m going to catch up on _all_ the new Hotdog Man episodes! I think I missed… Probably a whole season! Hey Mom, do you know Hotdog Man?”  
  
“Of course, I used to watch it with Sean all the time when he was a kid.”  
  
“Oh so that means you missed _so much_! Alright so first of all he’s got a new friend, Mustard. And together they built a secret base called the Ketchup Fortress. But it was destroyed in season eight when they fought…”  
  
It seems like Daniel felt that it is his sacred duty to fill Karen in with all the details about Hotdog Man’s adventures. And she didn’t mind to listen, looking backwards and nodding occasionally and asking questions like “but what did the Evil Bun do?”.  
  
Sean listened to them for a while and then trailed off again and stared at the view as it was passing by. They were in Arizona now, but the desert was all the same. It reminded him of the time he first entered the desert landscape that was passing by the window when he was in a different car on his way to save Daniel. _Did he manage to? Save Daniel?_ These past two days it occurred to him that this job only just started. But he had a feeling he _is_ saving him. He would always fight to save him, that he knew without a doubt.  
  
That day when he left California, how he hated watching the beautiful forest that felt like home slowly switching into the bare desert landscape. And for a while this feeling didn’t get better—he was humiliated in this desert. He was tired, hurt and alone.  
  
But it’s crazy how things couldn’t be more different now. Now he saw the magic and beauty of the desert. He should paint it later again, when they get to the community. There will be much more to paint—more people to meet, more things to experience. There will be more hardships in their way for sure, but now they will face them together, as one pack. The wolf brothers, back together.  
  
_Arizona here we come._

* * *

Half an hour from her place, Karen found herself slowing down a little on her drive. Despite the fact that they were hungry and haven’t taken a shower and they were stuck in their seats for way too long, there was something blissful she didn’t want to disturb by reaching their destination.  
  
Sean and Daniel were sitting side by side despite having another sit in the back row, and they were arguing about who goes to shower first. Each one wanted the other to be the first, of course. Only boys could spend so much time on the road and yet delay taking a shower.  
  
Sean talked. “Well I’m a pirate, see?” he asked and touched his eye-patch, “Pirates can spend weeks in the open sea without any shower. Superheroes on the other hand have to shower so that they’ll still look awesome.”  
  
Daniel frowned. “What? Why can’t superheroes look awesome without a shower but pirates can?”  
  
“Because that’s part of the pirate look, duh! Superheroes look is more like a… Superhero outfit, and you need to keep it clean you know.”  
  
“Well I don’t have a superhero outfit so your reason is not good enough!”  
  
“Yeah it is!”  
  
“No it isn’t!”  
  
They kept arguing and didn’t even notice that she looked at them. As she did, a warm feeling filled her heart. She was so proud of Sean for helping Daniel like that. Sure, she gave him advice, but honestly she couldn’t have done it herself.  
  
As she learned from these past few days, these brothers can pester each other and fight, but at the end of the day the connection that they share is unbreakable.  
  
_They’ll be alright,_ she realised, and it comforted her so much. Even if she wasn’t the mother they deserve, even if she still can’t, as long as they have each other they have family, which is what they need. She hasn’t yet figured out what she was going to do when the boys go to Mexico. But maybe… Maybe she doesn’t have to decide right now. She can use all the time she has to catch up with these kids, not worrying and thinking but enjoying them, and trying to help them any way she can. Damn, she still didn’t know the real Daniel behind the trauma that he endured. Or Sean for that matter. He grew up so much, he was almost a man now, even if there were times his true teenage nature peeked through like now. There was nothing she wanted more than to get to know them.  
  
Will she follow them to Mexico? This is a shitty decision that still needs to be made, but it can happen later.  
  
“What do you think mom?” she heard Daniel’s voice.  
  
She turned around to see her boys waiting for her answer “what?”  
  
“Who would win in a fight, Superwolf or The Silver Pirate? Superwolf has telekinesis and The Sliver Pirate has super endurance and a cool eye patch!”  
  
She pretended to think about it. “What about the Wild Ranger?”  
  
Daniel’s eyes widened. “Who’s that?”  
  
“She’s a woman with a kick-ass truck. If any bad people show up she can run ove..”  
  
“She can scare them away, _right, Karen?_ ” Sean spoke loudly. _oops_ “...And she can control fire of course.”  
  
Karen smiled. “Oh yeah”.  
  
After a second she heard Daniel again: “Hey Sean! You and Wild Ranger versus me and Captain Spirit, who would win?”  
  
“Hmm you two do make a great team so…”  
  
“Ooh what about me, Captain Spirit and Sarah, versus you, mom and Finn?”  
  
“Remind me what Finn’s powers are again?”  
  
Karen laughed and turned her focus back on the road. _Yep, we’ll be alright._

**Author's Note:**

> If you ever feel like Daniel and have the thought of hurting yourself, I want you to know that this is not the answer. You need to be healthy and strong to deal with whatever problem you’re facing, and if it’s something there is no way to deal with - then stay and survive until it things will be better. It might look like they’ll never get better, but eventually they will. And until then you have love and strength from the life is strange 2 community.  
> For more advice and support you can always try these places:
> 
>  _Self harm masterlist of all countries:_ <http://oneloveallequal.org/2017/08/24/self-harm-hotlines/>  
> _Text line:_ <https://www.limitless.sg/talk>
> 
> Abuse masterlist of all countries:  
>  _Child abuse:_ [ttps://www.childhelplineinternational.org/child-helplines/child-helpline-network/](https://www.childhelplineinternational.org/child-helplines/child-helpline-network/)  
> (Some of them have text chat options too)  
>  _Domestic abuse:_ <https://www.wave-network.org/wp-content/uploads/WAVE_folder180919_low.pdf>
> 
> _More helpful helplines:_ <https://www.stopitnow.org/ohc-content/crisis-hotlines>
> 
> ~~~~~~~~
> 
> The idea for this fic is rooted in semi-canon - the model for Daniel in episode 4 has red marks on his hands, [as tumblr users _thefantasyhasnolimits_ and _sincerely-kleinman_ found out.](https://thefantasyhasnolimits.tumblr.com/post/187216597770/i-noticed-while-playing-and-i-got-a-friend)  
> In game Daniel wore long sleeves so it was never seen, so it must have been an idea they had and eventually scrapped but I still find it interesting.  
> The fic is also based on my wonder if Daniel will get back to cursing in episode 5 if you chose to let him or if this thing is over.
> 
> The cute idea of Daniel wanting to shave his head like his big brother came from a discussion at the lis2 Discord server I’m at, **Wolf’s Den**.
> 
> Speaking of which, I also want to say a huge thank you to my friends at Wolf’s Den for the support and advice, especially Dreamwalker, Ellie, and Yoonbey. Love you guys.  
> If you like lis2 and want to talk about it, you’re welcome to join us! (Especially as episode 5 is almost here, we can all cry together about the wolf brother’s fate)  
> [Here’s the link.](https://discord.gg/BkdqDhG)  
> It’s cool with us, we don’t bite (haha pun).
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading this, I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> ~~~~~~~~
> 
> On a more personal note, this is the first fic I publish. Not the first I wrote, I have many started and never finished drafts, but this is the first time I went through with something till the end which I’m very proud of. It is also the first time I had an idea for a one-shot. Usually my ideas are long and complicated multi-chapters. This is probably why this is the first idea I manage to actually finish because it’s a tangible goal. I was just really charmed by the idea of this small road trip where the Diaz family deals with things.  
> Also, I never dealt in my fics with such heavy topics like these, so you can add that to the list of firsts. I surely felt the weight of responsibility to present these issues of abuse and self harm in the most respectful way possible, and I’m happy I got over my fear and touched these topics. I hope I did them justice. Life Is Strange 2 truly is an amazing game for bringing heavy themes to the spotlight.
> 
> In the writing process I got to stages I haven’t got to before, mainly editing in a professional way, which was complicated but enjoyable in itself. There was a whole scene I decided to cut and replace! In general, I learned so much from writing this fic. About writing, editing, getting stuck and asking friends for help, letting go and fighting for the parts you believe in.  
> I fell even more in love with writing than I was before, and you can bet this won’t be the last fic you see of me. Not the last lis2 fic as well probably!  
> Thank you for being a part of this journey! I’m open to all criticism, I want to learn from it.
> 
> Thank you and have a great episode 5!  
> God I’m not ready for it at all....


End file.
